Former Comancheros bikie gang boss
Mark Buddle refused bail over alleged money laundering
Updated yesterday at 5:30pm
AP: Newcastle 2300
A former bikie gang boss has been refused bail in a Newcastle court after he was
accused of money laundering for allegedly trying to leave the country with
$60,000 in cash.
Mark Buddle, who has served as the national president of the Comancheros outlaw
motorcycle gang, was arrested at Newcastle Airport in central New South Wales
last week after police were tipped off by Customs.
The Australian Border Force said he and a woman he was planning on proposing to
were hoping to board a twin-engine plane chartered to fly from Melbourne to
Noumea, in New Caledonia.
The 30-year-old was charged with dealing with the suspected proceeds of crime
and moving more than $10,000 out of Australia without a report.
Last week, Buddle's lawyer said his client's marriage proposal plans had been
soured after his arrest.
The prosecution had previously argued Buddle should not be granted bail, as he
was likely to receive a custodial sentence and posed a flight risk.
But Buddle's lawyer Avni Djemal had proposed conditional bail, saying his client
had no recent history of non-compliance.
Dressed in prison greens, Buddle faced court on Tuesday via audio-visual link
from Silverwater Correctional Complex, blowing his partner a kiss.
In refusing bail, the magistrate cited Buddle's violent criminal history, as
well as his criminal associations as a former bikie, and noted the "unacceptable
and ongoing risk of offending cannot be mitigated by bail conditions".
The matter will go before court again on September 14.